Owner Stories
1938 Frazer/Nash or a Royale Sabre?
Many folks mistake this car as a BMW, which was built under licence in London by Frazer Nash in the late 1930’s. However if you were to take a closer look you will find that it is a beautifully built, quality kit car.
The kit was purchased from the Royale Motor Company in September 1995 by a Mechanical Engineer as a retirement project. The donor car was a low mileage manual 1990 Ford Granada GL 2.0i DOHC, which had just been fitted with a factory replacement engine and gearbox when it was written off in a rear end shunt. It took him 2 years to complete and was sold 12 years later in 2007 when the elderly builder now in his mid 70’s could no longer climb in and out. It had covered just 350 miles.
The new owner spent over £6000 on modifications including fitting MTS chrome wire wheels, cream side panels, leather upholstery, leather door panels, Wilton carpets and a full stainless steel Powerflow exhaust system. He had the car for just a when he had to sell it to purchase some land adjacent to his cottage.
In 2007 I joined the Royale Owners Club to seek advice on what to look out for when buying my first kit car. Full of invaluable information and advice I then went to view the Sabre 120 miles from my home when it was advertised in Nov 2008 on the internet. Being such a well built, genuine car I bought it and now the car had travelled just 1450 miles.
Over the years I have had many happy hours sorting various issues with the ABS system, fuel injection, replacing sensors and curing rattles and squeaks. I have fitted a badge bar along with a pair of Lucas spot and fog lights, conversion to Lucas 7000 tripod headlamps, movement sensing LED boot lights, burglar alarm, tracker, remote central locking, stainless steel radiator, air induction modifications and a Sony Bluetooth radio/CD player with uprated speakers. A set of Vredenstien radial tyres have recently been fitted, the four wheel disc brakes have undergone a complete overhaul and a new battery installed.
This beautiful looking Royale Sabre is a joy to own and drive. It is comfortable, has excellent performance, handling and braking. If you buy one you will not be disappointed. Barrie Evans